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Jupiter # 21: SF MagazineJanuary 2008 aka Jupiter 4 XXI: Chaldene
02/08/2008 Source: Rod MacDonald 

pub: Ian Redman, 19 Bedford Road, Yeovil, Somerset BA21 5UG, UK. 56 A5 magazine. ISSN: 1740-2069. Price: £ 2.75 plus postage (UK)).

check out website: www.jupitersf.co.uk

'Jupiter' has been going for five years and 21 issues. To celebrate this, the editor Ian Redman has produced a special issue with a colour cover instead of the usual black and white. Indeed, the artwork by Jesse Speak is excellent. It depicts a scene on Jupiter's moon Chaldene, intriguing and strange with the massive planet as a backdrop. If only we had this every issue!



However, we can't really complain. 'Jupiter' is a very good magazine and it has a track record which speaks for itself. I've been reviewing 'Jupiter' for several issues and on each occasion it is an enjoyable experience with new and exciting reading material. Being a reviewer, I don't have to pay for my copy but I reckon it is good value for money.

There are five stories in issue 21 and also a poem. 'An Element Of Shyness' from JPV Stewart, the resident poet of 'Jupiter', has as its subject the element helium. Why anyone would want to write a poem about helium beats me but there you have it. I can't wait for his ode to osmium or even a sonnet on sulphur.

The stories were all very good and entertaining. I had thought the 'Road' series by Gareth D. Jones had come to an end with the last issue but apparently there are five in the sequence. That's fine because it is interesting fiction which could run for a few miles yet. 'Roadruler' carries on the story with our characters in the post-apocalypse world with the news that the Road Maker is back on the road again.

'Epeius's Egg' by Terry Grimwood is a story which initially makes you think, oh no, here we go again on a well trodden path. Large singing eggs become available on the intranet. Everyone wants one. Despite being apparently expensive, purchase terms are so easy that lots of people buy them. They emit soothing music which goes deep into the soul to soothe away all the troubles of the day.

Of course, what does an egg do eventually? It hatches and as you'd expect, the things that emerge from the eggs are not very pleasant. Rather predictable you would think but Grimwood tells the story very cleverly. We all know these people are stupid and in a way they deserve all they get in being caught up by something so obviously cracked but are we really any different? Maybe we all have our own eggs which will hatch one day?

The other three stories were also entertaining. What's good about this magazine is that the stories are varied, not all in the same mould and are good examples of Science Fiction literature. Once again, I can recommend 'Jupiter' as a good purchase

Rod MacDonald

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